Structural building unit



July 7, 1,953 N. T. cpl-:MENTS V I 2,644,327

STRUCTURAL BUILDING UNIT ATTORNEY NormonT.C|ements.

July 7, 1953 N. T. cLEMENTs 2,644,327

' STRUCTURAL BUILDING UNIT Filed sept. 2', 1948 s sheets-sheet 2 l m Fig?.

" NormonTlemens.

ATTORNEY July 7,1953 T. CLEMENTS 2,644,327

` STRUCTURAL BUILDING UNH.`

1N VEN TOR.

v or'manTlemens.

ATToRN Y Patented July 7, 1953 y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I STRUCTURAL BUILDING UNIT Norman Thomas Clements, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application September 2, 1948, Serial No. 47,451

7 Claims.

n"My invention relates, generally, to structural building units, and, more particularly, to such units in the form of bricks or the like, fand to wall or building construction employing such units.

Heretofore, many attempts have been made to provide a structure building unit in the form vof a-brick or the like having mechanical interlocking and self-spacing features to some degree. None of these attempts has been entirely successful for the reason that no one has lprovided a Lunit which may be readily and economically produced, which is as universally applicable as common brick; which is so constructed that it may be readilyand economically used in the building of wall or other structures wherein the vunits are laid up vin mortaror laid up dry and left in that condition or the mortar is introduced after the units havebeen laid; 4which is so constructed that the units are self-spacing, selfaligning and self-interlocking under all conditions-of use; which is so constructed that the units may be accurately and properly laid up vWith a minimum of time and effort by skilled or unskilled workmen to provide structures which are rigid, strong and accurate to the desired degree,

and which are so constructed as to make units of this general nature so readily and economically usable by saving time as distinguished from saving labor that they will be used in almost all kinds of structures and lput-masonry built structures on a` competitive basis with any other type of structure. Y

It is to the solution of this problem and to the fulfillment of this need for an entirely new and universally lusable building unit in' the interests of reducing cost of building construction and providing better construction that my invention is directed. 7

Accordingly; the object of my inventionfg'enerally stated, is to provide a novel building unit inthe form of a brick or the like which shall be fully'fas universal in its use and applicationv as the common brick, but which shall be so shaped and constructed that itYV may be laid up with far greater speed and with less effort by skilled or unskilled workmen than such common brick to provide a wall or other structure which' shall be rigid and strong 'and wherein the units are accurately spaced, Ialigned and mechanically interlocked.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a building unit in the form of a brick or the like' which is so shaped that it may be used in building wall orr other structures in accordance with any known system or procedure by experienced as well as unexperienced workmen and 'a rigid, durable and well appearing structure obtained. Y

VAnother object of my invention is to provide a unit of the character -described which is so constituted that it may be readily laid up in' wall or other structures with or without the use of a suitable adhesive agent, such as cement mortar, or first laid up dry and the adhesive agent introduced thereafter by manual or mechanical means, and which under all conditions shall be selfspacing, self-interlocking and self-aligning.

A further object of my invention is to provide a unit of the character described wherein the self-spacing, self-interlocking and self-aligning functions are provided by the use of predetermined arrangements of cleats and bars on opposed lat faces or surfaces of the unit.

Another object of my invention is to provide a unit of the character described wherein a notched longitudinal cleat portion is provided on one face and a plurality of transverse notched cleat portions and longitudinal bars on the opposite face for imparting self-spacing, self-interlocking and self-aligning qualities or features to the unit.

A further object of my invention is to Iprovide vawallor other building structure constructed of a plurality of building units of the character described in which all of the various units are properly spaced, aligned and interlocked so as to provide a durable and rigid structure with or without the use of mortar or other adhesive.

These and other objects of my invention will become more apparent from the follow-ing detailed description of several embodiments thereof when read in conjunction with the drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a side View, in elevation, of one embodiment of my invention lin the form of a building brick, the brick in this instance being shown upside down in order to conform to the showing ofthe several units in Fig. 3,

` Fig. 2 is an end View, in elevation, of the brick of Fig. 1 also shown in upside down position,

Fig. 3 is a View of three of the units standing on their end faces showing the details of the cleat and bar arrangements used on the Ibottom. surfaces or faces of the units,

Fig. 3a shows a plurality of the units laid in a stretcher course with their top faces facing upward,`

Fig. 4 is a side View, in elevation, of another embodiment of my invention,

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view along line V-V of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the bottom face or surface of the unit of Fig. 4,

Figs. 7 and 8 are sectional views of a wall structure formed of the units shown in Figs, 4, 5 and 6:

Fig. 9 is a side view, in elevation, of another embodiment of my invention,

Fig. lIlsisv atop plan View of therunit of Fig. 9,

Fig. 1l is an endview thereof,

Fig. 12 is a perspective View of the units 9, l0 and l1,

Fig. 13 is a bottom plan view of `the unit shown in Fig. 9,

Fig. lli, is a cross sectional ViewI of the wall.

veneer wall showing the arrangement of bricks.,

at the corner, and

Fig. 16- is-a similar view of another portion of of the veneer Wall. v

Referring now to Figs. l, 2, 3, and 3a, ofthe drawing, which show one embodiment of my inventionas it relates to a building unit in the form of'a brick, there isshown aA brick I of standard or other suitable dimensions which may be formed inca-ny desired manner and of any suitable material, such as clay, cement, plastic, metal or'thelike.

Thefbrick I comprises'a body portion II having oppositely disposed at end faces i2 and i3, front and rear side faces I4 and I5 and top and bottom faces I and I6.

' In Figs. l and '2, the `brick is shown in an upside down position and, therefore, it is to be understood that theface` I5 isVr the top face or surface of the `brick asitis normally used.

I Inorder to provide self-spacing, self-aligning and self-interlocking features-various arrangementsofprojecting portionsare utilized on some ofpthe. faces, andy these projecting portions will be referred to hereinafter as cleats and bars.

:It .Wi-ll befobserved that, in'this embodiment of myrinvention, the body portion is provided on its top face or surface I5 with a single cleat II extending longitudinally thereof adjacentv one edge; While `any'suitable sizeandshape'of cleatv maybe. employed, it is preferred to use 'a triangular; shaped cleat, as shown, which has a height corresponding to the desired spacing be tween bricks, such as one-half inch;

Therlongitudinal cleat .I'I is provided with a plurality of cross notches I3, I9, 2and 2| which havefconverging sidewalls and a depth of onehalf` that of the cleat. These notches are of the samesize, that is, the sidewalls of the notches are spaced and sloped to correspond to the spacing and sloping` of the side walls of the cleat.

` It is preferred. to position these notches in such manner that they are equally spaced with two notches on each side'of the midpoint of the body portion, as shown. It will be apparent that the spacing dimensions depend upon the length of the body portion. As an example, however, if the brick isito be ofl standard 8 length, the spacingbetween the centers of thek notches is 21/8. The end notches VI3 and 2I are spaced fromV the end faces of the body portion a distance equal to one-half the spacing betweenk notches plus one-half the desired spacingbetween the ends of adjacent bricks in a stretcher course. If this spacing is one-half inch, then ,the total distance tobe considered in figuring the spacing between notches isv eight land one-half inches which gives a 21/8" spacing between the centers of the notches.

It is to be understood that this is simply an example and that the brick of my invention may be made in any desired size or proportion.

The bottom face or Surface I6 of the brick is provided with a plurality of transversely extending cleats 24, 25, 26 and 21 which are of the same cross-sectional shape and size as the longitudinal cleat I 1, 'andfwhich arespaced tot correspond with the spacing of the notches I8 through 2|.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the transverse cleats are each provided with a full or closed notch 28 and an open-sided or partial notch 29. The closed notch 28 is similar in size and shape to the notches I8;v I9",l etc. The open-sided notch 25 is of the same depth as the other notches and its single side wallhas the same angular position asv corresponding side Walls of the other notches.

It willv bev observedfthatrthe transverse cleats 24, 25, etc., extend onlypartially across the face I6 and terminateshort of the edge between the bottom face II-and the front face I5.

Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be observedthat each brick is provided on its bottom face or surface with a plurality of bars-3 I, Y32 and 33 extendf ing in .aligned relation between the transverse cleats and spaced from the edge of thebottom face I6. These bars are. of the same size and shape as the transverse cleats 24 etc., except that they are only one-half as high. InV other Words, their height corresponds to the depth of the notches, such as i8, 28 and 29.

In addition to the bars 3l, 32 and 33, a single half bar 34-is provided' between the endsof the cleats 25 and26. This halfbar isof .the same shape and dimension as the full bars, except that it is only onefhalf their sizeV in a transverse direction.

It is to be understood that the cleats and bars referred to may be integral with the body portion of the brick or theyv may be formed as separate members of the same or different material and attached thereto in'any suitablemanner. It is believed,` however, that the most practical way of making a building unit'of this kind is to moldor. eXtrude it ina suitable manner so'thatitis all in one piece.,

Reference will now be made toY Figa .for the purpose of further explaining thel novel structural features of this brick and the manner in which-,a plurality; of these bricks may be employed in awwall or other structure.

Fig, Sshowsa number of bricksD, E, F, G and I-I laid in a` stretcher course with theirztop faces I5 facing upwardand their longitudinal cleats II lying in two adjacent parallel rows `as' shown;

Fig. 3 shows threeof the headeror' bonding bricks A, B and C with their bottom facesl I E shown in order to illustrate clearly how they-fit upon the upper faces of thel stretcher bricks of Fig. 3a.

It will be observed. that the stretcher bricks are laid withv thejoints in each row staggered and with the correct spacingbetween bricks. The header'or bonding bricks when placed upon the stretcher bricks will bridge all of. the transverse joints, such as-3l, 38 and 39 as well as the longiof` Fig. 3a.in the samev position as.shownthe.

two middle transverse.. cleats 25 and 2I.will eX-V te'nd over l`and'in'terlo'ck with the cleatsv I1 ofthe fthreeA stretcher bricks D, E and Fb In addition, -thefull bar. y32 and the half-bar 34 between cleats -25 'and 26` willl be positioned within the square of notches 2 I, I8, I9 and'Z of the bricks E, D and F.

The header bricks A and Cv intert with the stretcher bricks inthe same manner with brick A covering the joint 38 and brick C covering the 'joint 39.

n It will beunderstood that the transverse cleats to the nature thereof automatically space, align L and interlock themselves in the structure. l

While, not shown, it will be readily apparent -that when 'successive' layers of stretcher Vbricks arelaid, the open sided slots 2S in the transverse cleats interflty withthe notches I8, I9, etc., in the longitudinal cleats I'I and accurately alignthe side faces of the bricks. parallel cleats have the `same center line spacing as the notches in the longitudinal cleat Il, Ythe bricks may be laid with 1/11, l/s or 3A lapping. In other words, regardless of the relative longitudinal positions of adjacent courses of stretcher .bricksthe open sided notches 29 will always in- Vtert properly with the slots I8, I9, etc., in the longitudinal cleat or cleats I1.

. describedtinv connectionv with Fig. 3; the-:full centerzbar 32 andtherhalf-bar 34 effectivelyinterlock;.with; .the notches in the longitudinal ,cleat lI'I which,as. will-'be understood, prevents the header brick from moving along theparallel rows of longitudinal cleats as would otherwise bethe case ifrithvere were, no interlocking bars. `Inorder .to increase this interlocking characteristicrand .makeitrpossible to also provide equally .effective interlocking under all conditions of use, the two end bars 3I and 33 are utilized. They are not keffective inthe arrangement shown in- Fig,3,

except .to strengthen the brick. When, however, aheadercourseis laidand it is desired to again lay a stretcher course, these end bars 3l and 32 interfit with the notchesr 2.8 in the transverse .cleats and function to mechanically lock vthe bricks of lthe first stretcher` course to those of the header @QllfSe-i. y. 7

It will be observed that the transverse cleats 24, 25, etc., terminate shortof the edge of the .flat surface upon which they are positioned or Ducato the fact that the Referring now to the brick structure per se, it Y I is preferred to use cleats of the character shown ing. As stated hereinbefore, all of the cleats may be integral or separate. They may be made of different material from that of the body portion.

They may be formed separately andattached to the body portion while it is in a soft or curing condition, such as when formed of clay or a similar substance.

The use of cleats of this nature also increases the adhesive area or surface of the brick. This lwill be apparent from the fact that the sloping sides or faces of the cleats together with the fiat surfaces therebetween have a total area of more than the nat area of the body portion'. Therefore, when an adhesive agent is used, the actual area with which it comes into contact is greater than if a flat surface brick were used. It ispreferred to use four transverse cleats, as shown, together with four equally spaced notches in the longitudinal cleatfor various reasons. The v'use of four transverse cleats strengthens the brick for the reason that the weight supported thereby vis distributed between the four points ofcontact o f the cleats. The use of four cleats also makes it possible to cut or break a brick.H into .quarters or halves'and still preserve its inherent .characteristics insofar as spacing, alignngfand interlocking are concerned. y

The use of four notches and four cleats together with the open-sidedY notches 29 in the transverse cleats makes itpossible to readily lay the bricks in a stretcher course in any desired manner of overlapping, that is, 1/4, 1/2 or 3roverlapping-.

`short v,o fjthe', fronty faced I4. They are inalignment with the side yof the middle halfbar 34 which makes it possible to employ various types offpointing for any structure laid up of these bricks and also possible to effect overlapping if desired. InY otherv words,- when stretcher bricks are laid one upon the other, the open-sided notches 29 in the transverse cleats engage the notches I8, I9, etc., in the longitudinal cleatsas stated hereinbefore. When, however, it is desired to effect overlapping, such as when building an overhanging wall or structure, the notches 28 in the transverse cleats engage with the notches I8 and I9 in the longitudinal cleats. e The bars 3|, 32, 33 and 34,in additionv to functionngeas interlocking andl positioning members, also function togreatly strengthen the body porvtionof the brick and increase its carrying capacity. As stated hereinbefore, these bars have a* height equal to one-half the heighth of the cleats. Inotherwords, their` height is the same as the depth of the notches in all cleats. It will be apparent that this Abeing the-case, thehorizontal faces of therbars are always spaced from Vthe upper surface of the lower brick. This provides the necessary passage for inserting the adhesive agentbetween adjacent brick surfaces. In yother words, the square area formed bythe two middle transverse cleats and the bars extending therebetween may be completely filled withvthe adhesive agent whether it is introduced by mechanical means or by means of a hand trowel.

Itlwill be-apparentthat a wall or other strucf ture laid up ofbricks of the character described.

' is a completely finished wall insofar as strength isconcerned regardless of whether or not an adhesive agent hasjbeen used. The'inherent na- .ture of vthesebricks provide complete ,self-spachimself-alignment and self-interlocking. Ei/.Qn .though A4the structure is laid up .in a dryv state without the use of an adhesive agent all of the various bricks, regardless of the style in which they are laid', Ywill be completely mechanically interlocked. insuch manner that no brick, except those on the top course, may be removed.

In addition, after the rst course if properly laid, all of the successive following courses, regardless of whether or not they are stretcher or header courses, will be automatically aligned and spaced as they are laid. The resulting structure is rigid and accurate and if the Vbricks have been laid` dry, Vthe entire structure may be further bonded together by introducing the adhesive "7 agent by means of a suitable mechanism. All of the various joints and passages between 'the vadjacent bricks, .regardless of the position there- Fig. 4 the brick 50 has a body portion 5I, a. longitudinal cleat 52 and a plurality of transverse cleats 53, 54, 55 and 56. In this instance, the cleat 52 is also provided with four notches which are equallyV spaced and of one-'half the depth of the cleat. Also, as shown in Fig. 6, the transverse cleats are also provided with open-sided notches 6I and full notches 62 as in the other construction. y

While this construct-ion is somewhat simpler 'to iorm or make, itis not so--completelyinter-- locking as the vconstruction-of Figs. V1 through 3. As -described i-n -connection therewith, the bars 3|l, v32, and 33 thereof which are not Lused in 'the present construction function to `interlock 'the-bricks of lthe different -courses against any movement whatsoever. Whilethis is a desirable feature, it ifs not necessary under all conditions,

`particular-1y in plain veneer brick work where the'present construction would be adequate.

Figs. 41' and I'8 show the self-spacing and Vselfinterlocking features of this brick. Fig. :7 shows a longitudinal sectional View of ya wall laid -up of these bricks which illustrates the manner *in ing fin detail how the two transverse cleats l521 and 55 hook over 'the adjacent or parallel 'longitudinal cleats :52. f

It Vwill be understood that Vthis brick 'is `-so constructed `-that it may be :laid up in any desired manner, that is, it may vbe yqua-rter lapped, half lapped or 'three-quarter lapped, -since the Anotches 51, `58, etc. are equally spaced and the "spacing of the transverse cleats 53, 54, etc., correspond with the spacing of thenotches.

Referring now A'to Figs. 1'0 'through r14, thereV is shown -a third embodiment of my invention I which is of the simplest form.

In this embodiment, vthe body portion 1| of the -brick "I0 'is provided `with a, longitudinal cleat 172 on v'the `upper face 13 adjacent one side edge thereof as in l'the other two embodiments Vdescribed. -It is also provided lwith a pair only'of transverse cleats 14 and 15 on the bottom sur- -face l16,"whic'h rare Lspacedapart oneon each side Aof the middle ofthe body portion.

The 'longitudinal Vcleat 12 j-is provided. 'with 4a 'pl-uralityiof notches 11, 118, 19 and-Uwhi'ch, :as in the Iother constructions, have la depth #equal to one-half the height of the "cleat, fI-n this `instance, however, -the notches vin the cleat 12 are not equally spaced. The two middle-*notches 18 'and 3159- are spaced apar-'t the same as the transverse cleats 14 and 15. The spacing between notches -11 and 1B and "59 an-ddii "is equal but is longer than the vspacing fbetween notches 158 land '119.

' "Ilhe transverse. lfcleats y'L41 .an'd15 .are provided with open sided notches 13| and 8.2 vat their .ends and with closed or `full notches 83 and 84 intermediate their iends'as in the other two constructions. Either the open sided notches or the full notches may engage the middle notches 18 and '19 of the longitudinal cleat. 12.

Referring to Fig. 14, there is shown 'how a number of bricks of this construction may :be used in .building a wall. This view vclearly illustratesy the manner 'in which 'the adjacent longitudinalfclea'ts 1.2 of :the lower courseX-of stretcher bricks are `engaged by lthe transverse cleats 14 and 15 of the bricks of the header .course Y.. This view Yalso shows how the second course Z of stretcher bricks interni'l with the header bricks.

Referring now to Figs. 15 .and '16,fthere isfshown the manner in which these bricks are laid .ina 'veneer ywall structure. Fig. 15 shows .the corner of the veneer wall as viewed from the rear :or back thereof. This View shows, in detail, .how the transverse cleats '15 and "1.1i on `the :brick J ofthe upper course interlock with .the longitudinal cleat 12 of brick K and the end notch 80 in the longitudinal `cleat 12 .of brick L of the bottom course. It will be noted that the opensided notch 82 of cleat 'I4 engages the 'notch Bil of cleat 12 on brick L.

Thus it will be apparent `that bricks K .and L are properly spaced .and tied Ytogether by the cleats V14 and 15, and that vvtheproper face alignment between bricks J and L is pro-vided by the engagement of the .open-sided notch 82. with .the notch l8l).

Fig. i6 shows the interlocking and face Valignment features of the 'stretcher bricks. of 1a veneer wall, as viewed from the rear. 'In this instance, the transverse cleats 15 and 14 of brick M engage the adjacent end notches 11 and `13E] in cleats 12 of bricks N and O, which properly-spaces the Vbricks Nl and O- in endwise relation and interlocks them together. In this instance, `theopensided notches -82 and -SI in cleats 15 vand 14..are in engagement withithe notches 11 and in the longitudinal cleats 12 0f `bricks N and O 4and provide the necessary face alignment of the bricks.

The unused notches, such as notches 1.8 and 19 in the longitudinal cleats 12, Vmay be used as metallic bond inserts.

It wil-l be apparent that, by'means of lthis arrangement and spacing of the notches in 'the longitudinal cleat 12 and the similar l'spacing of the transverse cleats 14 and y15, these bricks may be laid in one of two ways. They may -be laid one upon the other'with their end faces-in alignment, in which event the cleats 14 Yand 15 engage the two middle notches 18 and 19. They also may be laid in one-half overlapping relation, as shown in Figs. ll5 and i6, in vwhich event the cleat 14 will engage a 'notch '80 and cleat 15 will engage a'notch 1'1 ofthe next b-ric'k'in'the-stretcher course.

In view of lthe fact that the transverse Icleats 14 and 15 each have two notches, it will beap- 'parent that these bricks may be laid with their `front faces in alignment or offset as desired. When the front faces are in alignment, asshown in Fig. 16,*the open-sided notches'Bl and 82 engage the slots 11 and 88 inthe longitudinal cleats 12. When laid in Voverlap-ping relation, vthe middle notches 83 and -84 inthe transverse cleats engage the same notches vin the longitudinal cleats.

This construction is Vparticularly desirable where the vbrick is to be used primarily for veneer work; .Y irt'wiu' be apparent, hows/eventhat if desired, the notches in thelongitiidinal 'cleat may be equally spaced, as inthe othertwo constructin5 V f 1 Y Y the simplest 4'form of the threevembodi. mentsfof bricks disclosed-and is believed to be desirable from theA standpoint of cost of manufactur as -well aspossible loss resulting from.

of brick veneer Work.' In addition, ithas the self-v Y aligning and self-spacing features as Well as :the inner bonding offthe' other two constructions, In view of the foregoing description of detailed examples of the several embodiments of my invention relating to'building vunits in the 'forni of bricks, it willv nbe apparent that these building units are of such nature as to make it possible to Widely increase the use of masonry structures fm1` generalA building purposes andv thereby cons eiiveimaterials of a more scarce and expensive nature. r 1 Y p j..

The building 'units of my invention 'are so constituted'that'they may be readily used by` inexperienced as well as experienced `workmen and employed in the same manner as common brick to produce similar structures. My 'building units are so constituted that they provide a better and more Vsubstantial anda more accurately .cons'tructed wall or'other structure, in which they maybe en i'ployed.v Theirself-spacing, self-interlocking ,and self-aligningA features, all contribute to' the ease of laying either with or without an adhesive agent and also contribute to the produc tion of a more substantial and uniform structure` While I have shown and described specific embodiments of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in any one of these several embodiments Without departing from the principles of my invention.`

I claim as my invention:

1. A parallelepipedal building unit having at least a pair of opposed flat surfaces, a longitudin nally extending cleat of triangular cross section on one at surface disposed adjacent one edge thereof and having a plurality of equally spaced notches therein of lesser depth than the depth of the cleat, and a plurality of transversely extending cleats on the opposite flat surface being of substantially the same cross section as the longitudinal cleat and spaced apart in accordance with the spacing of the notches therein, said transversely extending cleats having open sided notches at the corresponding ends thereof at one edge of said opposite nat surface corresponding in depth to the height of the longitudinal cleat less the depth of the notches therein.

2. A building unit in the form of a brick comprising, a body member having at least a pair of opposed flat faces, a longitudinally extending cleat portion on one -face adjacent an edge thereof, said cleat portion having four spaced notches therein, a pair of transversely extending cleat portions on the opposite flat face, said cleat portions being spaced apart a distance equal to the spacing between the middle two of the notches in the longitudinal cleat portion and having open sided notches at corresponding ends correspondl other and having fourspaced notches thereinone l@ ing in depth to vthe height of the longitudinal cleat portion less the depth of the notches therein.

3. A building unit in the form of a brick comprising, a body member having at least a pair of opposed at faces, va longitudinally extending cleat portion on one face adjacent the edge thereof, said cleat portion having four notches` therein of a depth'equal to one half the height of the cleat portion, said notches being so spaced that the distance therebetween is equal and the end-*notches are positioned from the end faces of the body member a distance'of not more than one halfV theidistancebetween any two ofthe said four notches in the `cleat portion, four transversely extending cleatportions on they op` posite face spaced-'- apartY to correspondlto the spacing of saidnotches thel longitudinal'cleatf portion, Isaid'itransverse cleat portions having open sided notches at corresponding ends equal indepth to 's'aid 'other'notches and'full'notches intermediatetheir ends of similar depth', and a pair of vlongitudinally extending bar portions po`. sitoned in 'parallelielation between the two middle transverse cleat portions.

V4. Asa new `article 'of manufacture, building unit in the `form ofabrick having atleast a pairof opposedflat faces, a longitudinally*extendingv triangular-shaped cleat portion on one face ad-Y jacent one side edge thereof, said cleat portion being of Vsuch height as vto provide proper'spacing/v between such units when 'laid up one upon-the half the depth of the cleat portion, said notches being equally spaced with the two end notches spaced v'from the endfaces of the unit a distance less than vone half the spacing between notches, four transversely extending triangular-shaped cleat'portions onth'e oppositer nat facev ofthe unit.

spaced apart longitudinally of the unit in the same positions as the notches in the longitudinal cleat portion and being of the same height as said longitudinal cleat portion, said transverse cleat portions extending from the side edge'- of this face adjacent the side edge along which the longitudinal cleat portion is positioned and terminating short of the opposite side edge of the face on which they rare positioned, said transverse cleat portions each having a notch therein intermediate their 4ends and in longitudinal alignment, said notches in the transverse cleat portions being of the same depth and shape as the notches in the longitudinal cleat portion and being spaced from the ends of their respective transverse cleat portions which terminate at the side edge of the face a distance equal to the distance between the end notches in the longitudinal cleat portion and the end faces of the unit,

' a bar portion extending between each transverse cleat portion, said bar portions being positioned to one side of the notches in the transverse cleat portions and being of the same height as the bottoms of the notches, and an additional bar portion extending between the ends of theV two middle transverse cleat portions which terminate short 0f the side edge, said additional bar portion having the same cross sectional shape as one longitudinal half of the other bar portions and being ofthe same height.

5. A building brick comprising, a body member having at least a pair of opposed flat surfaces, 1a single longitudinally extending cleat portion on one side only of the flat surfaces adjacent one edge thereof, said cleat portion having a plurality of spaced transverse notches therein. said l l notches being of a depth less than the height of the cleat portion, and a plurality of transversely extending cleat portions on the opposed flat surface, said transversely extending cleat portions being equal in number to and having substantially the same spacing as the transverse notches in the longitudinally extending cleat portion and havingV their corresponding ends' provided With open-'sided notches having a. depth-equal to the height of the longitudinally extending cleat por'- tion less the depth of the notches therein.

- 6. A building brick comprising, a body member. having at least a pair of opposed flat surfaces, a longitudinally extending cleat portion on onev side only of the flat surfaces adjacent one edge thereof, Said vcleat .portion having four spaced transverse notches therein, said notches being equally spaced with the end notches equally spacedfrom` the ends of the cleat portion a lesser distance than the spacing betweenA notches and a plurality of transversely extending cleat portions on the opposed flat surface, said cleat portions being equal in number to and havingsubstantially the Ysame spacing as the notches in the longitudinally extending cleat portion and having; open-sided notches at corresponding ends thereof having a depth equal to the height of the longitudinal extending cleat portion less the depth of the notches therein.

7. A building unit comprising, a body member havingA at least a pair of opposed faces, a triangular-shaped cleat portion onv one face thereof extending longitudinally thereof along one edge,

said` cleat portion having four equally spaced transverse notches therein, four spaced triangular-shaped cleal'l portions of substantially the same height as the longitudinal cleatportion on the opposite face. extending transversely thereof from one longitudinal edge andv terminating short of: the opposite-edge` andV having the same spacing as the notches in the longitudinal. cleat portion, said transverse cleat portionsV each having notches therein intermediate their ends and in longitudinal alignment and open-sided notches'at corresponding ends Aterminating at said one longitudinal. edge, said notches and open-sided notches having a depth equal to the height of the longitudinal cleat. portionless the depth-.of thenotches therein, a plurality of. bar portions extending in longitudinally aligned relation between said transverse cleat portions intermediate the notchesl in said transverse cleat'portions, and an additional single bar portion extending between the middle two of the transverse lcleat portions and spacedin parallelrelation With-the other bar portion extending therebetween a dis-Y tance substantially equal to the spacing of. the notches in the longitudinal cleat portion.

NORMAN THOMAS CLEMENTS.

References Cited in the file Vof this patent UNrrED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date;

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